How do you determine value? I sometimes think about a statement accredited to Erwin Edman, "Education is the process of casting false pearls before real swine."
I have, of course, a slightly different take; the value of thing can be directly related to the cost of a thing.
Price is a great measure of value.
Back when I was teaching, I continually related the abject failure of a man who had developed the world's greatest beer warmer. It cost just a nickel to produce, and he was willing to sell it for a quarter. Good profit margin and low production costs.
The only problem was, most people wanted cold beer.
Similarly, at the moment, there was an example of costless resource; water. Who would be wiling to pay for water, when water was delivered to you without cost? (Remember, I was born and raised in Oregon. We do things wetter here.)
And then, miraculously, externalities were created. We couldn't simply remove water from the local water source. Water had to meet certain standards. But whose standards?
Standards from people who determined that without standards you could die.
Not in one fail swoop. But over time. You could die from long-term exposure to toxins. Carcinogens are one of the favourites. Feed a rat more than 10-thousand times the amount of a substance than that which would ever be experienced by a rational, living human being, and you would--could--create a health hazard. My favourite, of course, is Rachel What's-her-name (WHN), the lady who brought an end to the rational use of DDT.
Rachel WHN developed allies with political aspirations. If you're an old guy, you can guess the list of "Liberal" politicians who helped to pass legislation outlawing the use of DDT. "We can't afford to be wrong" has been the whining apology of the Left since I've been alive.
Of course we can afford to be wrong. What we can't afford is prophylaxis that costs more than it cures. We can rationalize extreme prophylaxis. But, I proffer, we can't afford it.
I'm not being sarcastic. We can afford to be wrong in our day-to-day affairs, operations, mistakes, simply living. What we can't afford is government entering into those everyday decisions in order to remove the risk of our day-to-day mistakes, our day-to-day operations, our day-to-day mistakes. Simply living.
Think about all of the things that government has done for us.
We can't buy affordable health-care insurance because an health-care provider wouldn't want to pay for transgender operations. And medical insurance that wouldn't pay for transgender operations is discriminatory against those who want to change their sex. So, we pay more for medical insurance so that those few who wish to either add or subtract aren't faced with undue medical costs as the result of a mandate from the state.
Those of us who wish simply for an insurance policy that wards off the worst of a terrible accident--in terms of the costs of emergency medical care--can't buy such a policy since it would discriminate against those who want to have insurance that includes the costs of child birth. I simply cannot understand why Democrats and Leftists would want me to pay for another's child.
I didn't even touch her.
But we live in an imperfect world. A world where costs have increased as legislatures have increased the number of mandated coverages my simple terrible accident insurance would have need's cover in order for me to purchase my terrible accident coverage. Just as Rachel WHN offered us safety from the horrible effects of DDT, modern politicians are affording me safety from the risk that I, at age 55, create a child that may have autism. I know where my dick is, I know how children are created. The chances of my needing coverage to provide for the risks of autism in young children is slight. If not non-existant.
So, what is the value of health insurance to me?
In the last 10 years I've saved at least $72-thousand dollars by not having health insurance.
I'm healthy, enough.
I see my dentist on a regular basis. (I pay cash.)
I see my doctor when I feel I want his consult. (I pay cash.)
Do I, will I, get better value than that which I receive currently under any federalized medical insurance plan? Clearly not. I will be worse off.
Will I receive any compensation for my loss? Nope. And any guarantees under the Constitution that I should rely upon are being thrown out the door every day that I live and breath.
Health care is just one issue under which I'm being screwed. Environmental concerns are an additional issue that screws me.
Oh, and then there are the stupid laws that offer prophylaxis; seatbelts, helmets, hands-free cellphones...
Cutting trees. Mining. Fishing.
Prophylaxis is preventative. And we've been told, over and over and over again, that prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Bullshit.
And yet, not.
If I choose not to skate on thin ice, I'm brilliant. When I rely upon the government to determine whether or not the ice is thin, I'm an idiot.
Prophylaxis is the Left's new common cure. Just as if we would be better off drinking Lydia Pinkham's elixir. Taking a draught of silly doesn't inure you to the effects of your sotten life. Even if you read the label.
Today's politician--as evidenced by the newest member of our United States' Senate--is not immune to the temptations of prophylaxis. But I will assert that there is greater value from dealing with the infection than there often is in trying to avoid the ravages of the disease.
What is the value of having someone else determine whether or not you are taking "too much" risk?
Risk. Do we have greater risk with centralized authority and control, or do we have greater risk with de-centralized authority and control? The Left will tell you that you have greater risk without their authority. I tend to disagree. The greater the dispersion of risk, the greater is the likelihood that failure or loss will occur to others and not I. If I were managing your portfolio, you could have many--as much as was provident--different investments as was possible.
If I had you invested in a single stock, both you and I would be considered fools.
And yet, this is the investment policy of our current Democratics majority.
"Trust us!" they cry. The Democratics will promise you health and wealth and security. All you need do is give them control over every aspect of your life.
How retarded can you get?
